turbulence
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Climate change could make future flights a lot rougher
Airplane rides could get extra bumpy in the future thanks to climate change. Turbulence could become two to three times more common because of it, according to a new study from the University of Reading.
Researchers take a hint from birds to fight airplane turbulence
We've all been there: you're trying to catch a little shut-eye on a flight when boom, out of nowhere, the plane hits a rough patch and you're dramatically roused from your slumber. Thanks to researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, those rude awakenings just might become a thing of the past. Inspired by the way birds detect and adjust to shifts in wind and airflow using their feathers, the school's Unmanned Systems Research team cooked up a series of sensors they can attach to an (admittedly tiny) aircraft's wings. Here's the thing: as well as just measuring gusts of wind as they pass across the wing's leading edge, the sensors can pick up shifting air currents in front of the wing too before they have a chance to send planes a-tumblin' (naturally, they proceeded to patent the stuff just to be safe). In its current form the tech is best suited for keeping lightweight planes on the straight and narrow, but team supervisor Simon Watkins thinks it could easily be applied to bigger vehicles -- like maybe the shiny new 777 you board down the road.
Airlines are getting better at spotting and dodging bad weather
Turbulence hasn't gone away, but apparently we experience a lot less of it now than we did a decade ago. The New York Times is reporting that as airlines upgrade their weather systems from telex to tablets, pilots' ability to avoid choppy sky has vastly improved. As well as this, better satellite imaging and weather forecasting has enabled airlines to cut the amount of weather-based delays from 50 percent in 2003 to 36 percent in 2013. In addition, Delta and American Airlines have now outfitted some of their craft with sensors that automatically transmit data to dispatches, keeping subsequent flights out of trouble. The report goes on to say that we're also on the cusp of another big weather resolution, since high-power imaging satellites, due to commence operation in 2016, will massively increase an airline's ability to predict when airports will get shut down - and hopefully, save future generations from trying to catch some sleep on those nasty-ass chairs at Philadelphia airport.
LIDAR system uses lasers to detect clear air turbulence before it hits
Fact: turbulence is no fun at all. Aside from the brief moments of bone-deep terror it can cause passengers, clear air turbulence (CAT) can also prove costly for airlines in terms of damages. To help pilots deal with difficult-to-spot areas where CAT is likely to occur, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is spearheading a new joint European project known as DELICAT. Essentially, the DELICAT program calls for planes to be equipped with a light detection and ranging instrument (LIDAR) that emits short-wave ultraviolet lasers. Radiation then bounces off oxygen and nitrogen particles in the air, indicating fluctuations in air density that signal the presence of CAT pockets. Until the end of August, the DLR will run test flights in a specially modified Cessna Citation plane to both show off LIDAR's capabilities and to give researchers invaluable data on CAT patterns. Though the system is still in its infancy, the folks at the DLR hope that the technology will one day become a standard part of commercial air travel.
